The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1887-12-03
A 100000 BET.
NINETEEN HUNDRED MILES ACROSS
MOUNTAINS AND PLAINS BY
PONY EXPRESS.

ern terminus of railroad communi-
cation. Beyond the stage coach, the
saddle horse and the OK trains were
the only means of commerce and
communication with the Rocky
Mountains and the Pacific slope. In
the winter of 1860 there was a Wall
street lobby at Washington trying
to get s5,000,000 for carrying the
mail overland one year between
New York and San Francisco. The
proposition was extremely cheeky,
and William H. Russell, backed by
Secretary of War Floyd, resolved to
give the lobby a cold shower bath.
He therefore offered to bet 100000
that he could put on mail line from
Sacramento to st. Joseph that should
make the distance-1950 miles-in
ten days. The bet was taken, and
the Sth of April fixed upon as the
day of starting. Mr. Russell called
upon his partner and general man
ager Of business upon the plains,
Mr.. A. B. Miller, now a citizen of
Denver, and stated what he had
done, and asked if he could perform
the feat Miller replied eyes, sir
l will do it, and do it by pony ex-
PRESS To accomplish this Mr..
Miller purchased 300 of the Aeetest
horses he could find in the West and
employed 125 men. Eighty of these
men were to be post riders. These
he selected with reference to their
light weight and their known daring
and courage. 1t was very essential
that the horses should be loaded as
light as possible; therefore the light
er the man the better. 1t was nee
essary that some portions of the
route should be run at the rate of
twenty miles an hour. The horses
were stationed from ten to twenty
miles apart, and each rider would
be required to ride sixty miles. For
the change Of animals and the shift
ing of the mails two minutes were
allowed. Where there were no
stage stations at proper distances
tents sufficient to hold one man and
two horses were provided. Indians
would sometimes give chase, but
their cayuse ponies made but sorry
show in their stern chase after Mil
ler's thoroughbreds, many of which
could make single mile in a min
ute and fifty seconds.
All arrangements being completed
signal gun on the steamer at Sac
ramento proclaimed the meridian of
April s, 1S60-the hour for starting
when Border Rufiian," Mr.. Mil
ler's saddle horse, with Billy Baker
in the saddle, bounded away toward
the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas.
and made his ride of twenty miles
in forty-nine minutes. The SHOWS
were deep in the mountains, and one
rider was lost for several hours in
snow-storm, and after the Salt Lake
Valley was reached additional speed
became necessary to reach st. Joseph
in time. From here on all went
well until the Platte was to be cros-
sed at Julesburg. The river was up
and running rapidly, but the rider
plunged his horse into the flood, !
only, however, to mire in the quick
sand and go down. The courier
succeeded in reaching the shore,
with his mail bag in hand, and tray |
eled ten miles on foot to reach the
next relay. Johnny Fry, popular
young rider of his day, was to make
the finish. He had sixty miles to
ride, with six horses to do it. When
the last courier arrived at the sixty |
mile post, out from st. Joseph, he
was an hour behind time. A heavy
rain had set in and the roads were
slippery. Two hundred thousand
dollars might turn upon single
minute. Fry had 3 just hours and
thirty minutes in which to win.
This was the finish of the longest
race, for the largest stakes, ever run
in America. When the time for his
arrival was nearly up, at least five
thousand people stood upon the
river bank, with eyes turned toward
the woods from which the horse and
rider should emerge into the open
country in the rear of Elwood-one
mile from the finish. Tick, tick,
went thousands of watches. The
time was nearly up. But seven
minutes remained. Hark! a shout
goes up from the assembled multi
tude; "He comes ! he comesw The
noble little mare Sylph, the daugh-
ter of Little Arthur, darts like an
arrow from the bow and makes the
run of the last mile in one minute
and fifty seconds-landing upon the